Having travelled by a seven-hour United Airlines flight from Heathrow, I landed at the Dulles international Airport, one of the leading American airports named after John Foster Dulles, a former Secretary of State when President Dwight D. Eisenhower held the reins of the country. My destination was Washington DC, the seat of 18th century enlightenment and democratic values, the symbol of national unity, and the capital of the US. It’s the city about which George Washington said in 1782: “If the country keeps united, she will produce a capital of such a magnitude, inferior to none in Europe.” The distance between the airport and the city is approximately 30 miles which can well be covered by a regular shuttle service in case no one is at the airport to receive you. Hiring a taxi can cost around $100 or more.
Washington DC is not only the hub of all political activities in the US, it also has great historical significance
It was late June and the weather was supposedly hot and muggy, around 34C; but compared to the one in plain areas of Pakistan, I found it quite comfortable and pleasant. Having been facilitated by the American embassy in Pakistan to participate in a conference on US Policy in South Asian 1961-71, held in the Harry S. Truman building, the State Department on the 23rd street, it was after 16 years that I had reached the US, the country where I spent five years (1984-89) of my graduate studies in the University of Arizona. Much had changed during the period and I was anxious to meet the immigration officer at the airport. He was polite enough, except he inquired about my nationality and about the two finger prints of each hand, the one I previously produced before the visa officer in Islamabad. Prior to boarding the United Airlines at Heathrow, I was asked to take my shoes off and remain in a straight position until my body was searched. But this was not in my case only; ahead of me were two Americans and one French going through the same test.
It was a 45-minute drive from the airport to the 16th street where my stay had been arranged at the Windsor Inn, a moderate motel. On the way, one could see the lush green boulevards of Virginia State, one of the two states connecting Washington DC; the other is Maryland. Washington DC in geographical terms is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan area, which also includes parts of three adjacent states. I recalled my student days in 1986 when I drove over to the Potomac River. The river is also known as Nation’s River because it flows through the nation’s capital, where the magnificent monuments of Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln are reflected in its waters. It is one of the most beautiful rivers on the east coast and is known for its historic, scenic and recreational significance. I first saw it in August 1986. Time and international politics may have changed, the river and its beauty is still the same.
The city of Washington, designed in 1791 by Pierre L’Enfant, a (1755-1825), a French artist/engineer and friend of George Washington, is today a huge multi-faced city. The original town, containing important government offices, state museums galleries and memorials, is limited to the area of not more than seven miles. The population of the city has expanded over the years, a factor responsible for congestion and traffic jams. According to a news item I read about the city in a local newspaper, the population of the city is 606,900; and of metro/suburb city is 4,923,574. Racial diversity: whites, 29.6 per cent, African Americans, 65.9 per cent, Asian/Pacific Islander, 1.9 per cent and Hispanic origin, 5.2 per cent. African Americans constitute the major menial force of the city.
The city streets are interlinked in numerical and alphabetical orders. From north to south, they are in ordinal number, and from east to west in alphabetical. There are streets in between with names such as Pennsylvania, Virginia and Constitution Avenue. The Constitution Avenue has historical significance. A two-hour walk on the road can make tourists aware of America’s political, scientific and cultural history. Important museums and state offices are located on that avenue. It reminds one of Islamabad’s Constitution Avenue, but with a difference that cannot be termed pleasant. It takes tourists to the front-side of the State Department building from the 14th street where there is the head office of the Technology Administration to the Capitol Hill, the seat of American legislature. The famous Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Veterans, Vietnam War Memorial, War Veteran, the Natural Museum of History and many others are situated here. The grand Lincoln Memorial is a tribute to President Abraham Lincoln and the nation he fought for during the Civil War (1861-1865). It’s built like a Greek temple. It has 36 Doric columns, one for each state at the time of Lincoln’s death, with a 70ft tall statue of the president. In front of the memorial is a lake across which is War Memorial. In between is the famous American Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of American History. The two are quite different. It needs four to five hours to visit each of them. The former contains thousands of items of interest ranging from the early dinosaurs/ancient fossils to the latest scientific discoveries. Close to it is the National Gallery of Art and Sculpture Garden.
The Capitol Hill is on the Constitution Avenue. One can see the 180ft dome from a small distance. There is a steep road that leads to the main area, making the pedestrians exhausted. One can obtain tickets from a tent-like office free of cost. A guided tour to the building takes around 45 minutes. Everyone has to go through security checks with no items allowed to take inside, except cameras and note-books. An old American told me that before 9/11 many things were allowed; but not now.
The White House is at a two-mile distance from the Capitol Hill, between the 15th and 16th streets. The official address of the White House is 1600 Pennsylvania. When I reached there it was around 4pm. Approximately three to four hundred visitors were there visiting the centre of American power from less than 600 yards. Security requirements restrict the visitors to get closer to the White House. The building from the rear side is not open to public and is believed to be heavily guarded by the elite Marine commandos. To me, it still looked a moderate building, much smaller in size than the Governor’s House in Lahore. The White House is a seven-storey building, but one cannot judge it from outside. It was, however, sensational for me to watch the residency about which I had read in history books. Closer to the White House are US Treasury Department and Old Executive Office, now abandoned. The US Supreme Court is a 10-minute walk away from the Capitol Hill.
I asked a guide about the residence of the vice-president which I thought would be close by. The next day I visited it. To my surprise it was a small building on the 34th street, a three-mile distance from the White House. Since July 1974 the building is occupied by US vice-presidents. Before 1974 vice-presidents did not have any official residence and could either rent a house or live in a hotel. Isn’t it hard to believe? The house is closer to the old building of the Pakistan embassy on the Massachusetts Ave. It has now been shifted to a big nice building on 3517 International Court Ave. The Georgetown University Law College is at a close distance too.
So, all in all, visiting DC was a learning experience.
Having travelled by a seven-hour United Airlines flight from Heathrow, I landed at the Dulles international Airport, one of the leading American airports named after John Foster Dulles, a former Secretary of State when President Dwight D. Eisenhower held the reins of the country. My destination was Washington DC, the seat of 18th century enlightenment and democratic values, the symbol of national unity, and the capital of the US. It’s the city about which George Washington said in 1782: “If the country keeps united, she will produce a capital of such a magnitude, inferior to none in Europe.” The distance between the airport and the city is approximately 30 miles which can well be covered by a regular shuttle service in case no one is at the airport to receive you. Hiring a taxi can cost around $100 or more.
The city of Washington, designed in 1791 by Pierre L’Enfant, a (1755-1825), a French artist/engineer and friend of George Washington, is today a huge multi-faced city. The original town, containing important government offices, state museums galleries and memorials, is limited to the area of not more than seven miles. The population of the city has expanded over the years, a factor responsible for congestion and traffic jams. According to a news item I read about the city in a local newspaper, the population of the city is 606,900; and of metro/suburb city is 4,923,574. Racial diversity: whites, 29.6 per cent, African Americans, 65.9 per cent, Asian/Pacific Islander, 1.9 per cent and Hispanic origin, 5.2 per cent. African Americans constitute the major menial force of the city.
The White House is at a two-mile distance from the Capitol Hill, between the 15th and 16th streets. The official address of the White House is 1600 Pennsylvania. When I reached there it was around 4pm. Approximately three to four hundred visitors were there visiting the centre of American power from less than 600 yards. Security requirements restrict the visitors to get closer to the White House. The building from the rear side is not open to public and is believed to be heavily guarded by the elite Marine commandos. To me, it still looked a moderate building, much smaller in size than the Governor’s House in Lahore. The White House is a seven-storey building, but one cannot judge it from outside. It was, however, sensational for me to watch the residency about which I had read in history books. Closer to the White House are US Treasury Department and Old Executive Office, now abandoned. The US Supreme Court is a 10-minute walk away from the Capitol Hill.
